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Evidence summaries

Interferon-Alpha for Hepatitis D (Hdv) Virus Infection

Interferon-alpha appears to be only very modestly beneficial in patients with HDV infection, with poor long-term remission. Level of evidence: "B"

A systematic review 1 including 5 RCTs with a total of 156 subjects and 10 uncontrolled studies (not included in the meta-analysis) was abstracted in DARE. The rate of response or remission was 18.4% in the treatment group and 1.5% in the control group. The best two results for long-term remission were 3.3% for lymphoblastoid IFN-alpha, and 8% for IFN-alpha 2b.

Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by sparse data.

    References

    • Malaguarnera M, Restuccia S, Pistone G, Ruello P, Giugno I, Trovato BA. A meta-analysis of interferon-alpha treatment of hepatitis D virus infection. Pharmacotherapy 1996 Jul-Aug;16(4):609-14. [PubMed] [DARE]

Primary/Secondary Keywords